Guest Post: How to Apply Eye Makeup on Asian Eyes

Today I’ve got a guest makeup picture tutorial by Patricia of MakeupMew on a topic that I definitely need training on – how to apply makeup on Asian eyes (although mine are a right doozy – not quite double, possibly triple, definitely kind of hooded!) Hopefully this is helpful for those of you with tricky eyelids…

I personally find it more difficult to apply eye makeup on Asian eyes even if I’ve had to deal with my own for so long now. Asian eyes are also known as “monolids” or “single eyelids”. “Parallel eyelids” or “tapered eyelids” are also common among Asians. While it certainly makes us look unique, it can be quite difficult to learn how to apply makeup because most makeup tutorials on Youtube are of non-Asians! I remember how frustrated I’d be because no matter how carefully I tried to recreate their looks, the end result would always look different or unflattering on my eyes. If you’re experiencing the same problem, maybe it’s because you’re employing the wrong techniques. Today I’m going to teach you how to apply makeup on Asian eyes. For reference, my eyelids are a mix of single and double eyelids, depending on the day and the amount of sleep I’ve gotten.

1. Apply a primer all over your lid, if needed. This helps your eyeshadow stay put, if you have oily skin. A primer also intensifies the color of the eyeshadow.

2. To make your eyes appear bigger, apply a medium-dark colored matte eyeshadow just to lend the appearance of a deeper crease. Matte eyeshadows will recess the area, while shimmery eyeshadows will make them pop out. Don’t apply too much because the crease will not be the focus of the eye. The darkest part will be near the eyelashes, and the highlight will be the inner half of the lid. To locate the crease, tilt your head back. You should be able to see it more easily then.

3. Next, cover the lower part of the lid with black cream eyeshadow if you have any. If not, just go on straight to the black eyeshadow. Don’t worry if it looks a bit messy and gross because we’re still going to blend it out.

4. Blend upwards and outwards into a slight v. The size and sharpness of this v depends on your eye shape and how much space you have in between your eyelid and eyebrow. Soften any edges.

5. Continue building upon that black gradient-like effect. Pack it on near the lashline and blend it upwards.

6. Take a bright blue eyeshadow and apply that all over the black, so that it looks like a dark blue.

7. Using your finger, take a light metallic color and pat it on the inner half of your lid as a highlight.

8. The tricky part with Asian eyes is the seemingly invisible crease. Our eyes are not so deep set, so the crease isn’t as prominent. Focus more on the outer v, rather than the crease, when creating the illusion of depth.

9. Apply eyeliner as close to the lashline as possible. You may need to put it on a little thicker as Asian eyes can be quite small but wide. I skipped this step because my eyes are quite sensitive to anything on my waterline, so I’m sparing you the visual of scary red eyes.

10. Line the waterline with a white or a flesh-toned eyeliner. Black eyeliner will make the eyes appear smaller. If your eyes are small to begin with, you’ll benefit from a lighter eyeliner on the waterline, and a dark eyeliner on the lashline. You can also try tightlining, wherein you fill in the spaces between the lashes for more definition without actually lining the space right above the lashline.

11. Apply mascara or false eyelashes for a more dramatic look. If you have short, sparse lashes like me, you may not even bother with mascara half the time. 🙂

The flash definitely made the far side of my face look a lot darker than in actual. I don’t like putting anything on my undereyes except concealer to minimize the wear and tear on the delicate area, so I compensate by making the eyeliner on my upper lids thicker than usual and then a little bit on my lower waterline sometimes just to add more definition. My eyes aren’t too small, just droopy.

In this tutorial, I just tightlined the upper lashline and left the lower lashline bare. 🙂 Hope this clarifies things!

I found this really useful! I don’t have asian eyes but do have the epicanthal (?) Fold/hooded lids as seen in scandinavian countries, almost the same shape, and makeup tutorials just looked stupid on me. Fantastic idea about tightlining too! Love this blog. Xxx